1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improved brake light system for bicycles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It has been found that rear end vehicular collisions are one of the most common accidents occurring on our road systems today and results in countless loss of money, time, and sometimes, life to those involved. Hence, numerous structures are disclosed in the prior art which are operable in various complex manners to alert following drivers of a bicycle's deceleration by turning on a brake light mounted on the rear of the bicycle. However, such prior art structures are very complicated in nature, expensive to manufacture, and difficult to install. In fact, such devices are difficult to adjust thereby rendering them unfit for practical use.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,586,021 to Nickols, a bicycle braking system indicator light assembly is disclosed. Such an assembly includes a battery powered lamp mounted on the rear of the bicycle. An electrical system is incorporated with the lamp which has a switch operatively connected with the caliper braking mechanism for the rear wheel of the bicycle so that the lamp is turned on and off in response to the operation of the brake mechanism. Once the brake blocks are worn out, it is necessary to adjust the assembly. However, it is difficult for an amateur to achieve the adjustment of the assembly hence making it unfeasible for popular uses.
UK Patent Application No. 2,098,309 to Hennessy discloses a bicycle braking indicator comprising light means installed on the conductive cycle frame, first and second brake blocks/electrically connected to the light means via wire. However, this reference utilizes a rotatable contact wheel made of conductive material to complete the circuit thereby making it very complicated in assembly and infeasible for use.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,792,882 to Guevremont teaches a bike brake light which comprises a brake light, a power supply for the brake light and a circuit opening and closing arrangement. The circuit opening and closing arrangement utilizes a microswitch to operate the brake light. Nevertheless, as the previous U.S. Pat. No. 4,586,021, this reference is still difficult to be adjusted once the brake blocks are worn out. Further, the bike brake light is also complicated in structure.
Another bicycle brake light system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,833,444. The bicycle brake light system utilizes a remote pressure actuable switch positionable on a bicycle frame for responding to the application of the brakes of the bicycle for actuation of the light. Anyhow, the bicycle brake light system still suffers from similar drawbacks of the previous U.S. Patents and is inconvenient to install.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,920,464 to Balentine, III, entitled "Bicycle Brake Light" discloses an arrangement which utilizes an included battery and signaling lamp mounted on an associated bicycle frame with a switch member mounted on a brake caliper to complete an electrical circuit to actuate the associated lamps. Likewise, this arrangement has to be regulated when the brake blocks are worn out and may create a hazard if it is not correctly adjusted.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an brake light system which can obviate and mitigate the above-mentioned drawbacks.